Beyond the Big Top: Nomadic world of the traveling circus

Updated 7:01 AM ET, Tue May 20, 2014

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Beyond the big top: Nomadic world of the travelling circus – Bright lights, exotic costumes, dazzling displays of superhuman feats. For any wide-eyed child -- and indeed adult -- who has gazed upon the circus ring, it appears a place of magic.

But just what goes on behind the Big Top spotlight? Italian photographer Giuliano Plorutti spent a decade visiting circuses across Europe, capturing performers in their downtime -- and giving us a rare glimpse into their nomadic world. Interview by Sheena McKenzie

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Beyond the big top: Nomadic world of the travelling circus – Plorutti's grainy black and white images offer a behind-the-scenes look at circus life. Performers are captured applying their make-up for the evening's show, practicing their routines in the afternoon sun, or relaxing in their caravans.

Now his intimate portraits have been published in a new book called -- aptly enough -- "Circus."

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Beyond the big top: Nomadic world of the travelling circus – The stark pictures have a retro quality, making it difficult to tell whether they were snapped three decades -- or three days ago. In fact, they were mostly taken between 2000 and 2009, with a few taken in the 1990s, at circuses across Italy, France, Hungary, and the former Czechoslovakia.

Beyond the big top: Nomadic world of the travelling circus – Think of the circus, and you'll likely picture vibrant colors -- from the red of a clown's nose, to the yellow stripes of the Big Top. So why did Plorutti opt for a black and white depiction?

"If you take a photograph in color today, it is realist. In five years time you'll know that the color is from five years ago -- it ages. Black and white doesn't date the same way. In this project, you can't tell if it's from the 80s, 90s, or 2000s," he said.

"Sometimes color is a distraction -- I don't want to make you lose five seconds to think about the date. I want you to see the poetry of the picture."

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Beyond the big top: Nomadic world of the travelling circus – Plorutti had to slowly gain the trust of performers, before being allowed to document their personal spaces. At first, he would simply turn up with an old camera, asking if he could take a few pictures.

"I kept returning, and after a while they would recognize me. They would ask me: 'Can I have a picture with my son?' They want pictures with their family."

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Beyond the big top: Nomadic world of the travelling circus – Skilled performers come in all shapes and sizes -- from deft jugglers, to fearless snake charmers, and this brilliantly bendy contortionist.

They train everyday, perfecting their routines for the crowds. "They work very hard," said Plorutti. "They wake up, they stretch, they make a little joke -- but they are incredible performers."

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Beyond the big top: Nomadic world of the travelling circus – Circus performers live a nomadic existence. No sooner have they asked us to "Roll up! Roll up!" then it's time to pack up the Big Top and head to the next town. "A clown might work the circus like a freelance -- maybe stay three months in Spain, then move to another circus in Italy," explained Plorutti.

Roll up for a rare glimpse – "When I was younger I didn't like the circus so much, because the people in the shows always seemed a little bit sad," said 50-year-old Plorutti. "The clown tries to make you happy, but his life is so sad."

"For me, the real joy is off the stage. You see the people performing for themselves. You see a father helping a son, trying to teach him, but in a joking way."

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Beyond the big top: Nomadic world of the travelling circus – The days of shows with exotic animals from far flung lands is over, says Plorutti, who prefers to capture the deeply personal, human side of circus life.

"The modern circus of the last 25 years, with lions and tigers, is finished," he said. "It's too expensive to keep them -- and to watch them."

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Beyond the big top: Nomadic world of the travelling circus – Instead, Plorutti sees the circus as a way to help homeless children. The Big Top offers them a career -- and a home -- off the streets, he said.

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Roll up for a rare glimpse – "Plorutti does not position himself and his camera arrogantly in front of his subject like an artist who must take home his own idea of the world," says Luca Panaro, professor at Bera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, in his introduction to the book.

On the contrary, his presence becomes invisible, he relates to the people being photographed, stripping himself of his role at that moment. The photograph itself seems almost secondary."

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Beyond the big top: Nomadic world of the travelling circus – "Plorutti is more attracted to their afternoon practicing than their evening performance," added Panara.

"He is fascinated by individuals, by their rhythm of life, their affinity with seasons and their nomadic lifestyle outside the accepted norm."

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Beyond the big top: Nomadic world of the travelling circus – There is a touching beauty in Plorutti's stark, brutal style. He offers us an insight into a world that remains mysterious to those outside the tight-knit circus community.

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Beyond the big top: Nomadic world of the traveling circus – He is fascinated by those living on the fringes of society, also documenting "gitanes," as he calls them, the French translation for gypsies. What next? Plorutti's now plans to focus on merry-go-rounds.